BOSTON -- When Alex Rodriguez stood in the batter's box for the final time as a Yankee at Fenway Park, his mind raced as if it were tuned to ESPN Classic instead of being fully engaged in the moment.
A-Rod said he felt like he wasn't facing Thursday's Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez or reliever Brad Ziegler, but instead was flashing back to battles with Pedro Martinez, Curt Schilling, Derek Lowe, Tim Wakefield and Keith Foulke.
"It was pretty distracting," Rodriguez said, sounding like he was hallucinating.
A-Rod had a chance to add to his memorable moments at Fenway in the eighth with the Yankees having just taken the lead. Red Sox manager John Farrell decided to intentionally walk Chase Headley to have Ziegler face A-Rod, hitless in his first three times up, with one out.
Rodriguez has the most grand slams in the history of the game, while the sidewinder Ziegler is a nightmare for right-handed hitters who want to lift the ball. A-Rod nubbed a pitch a few feet, soft enough to prevent a double play. He would be thrown out at first and credited with an RBI to extend the Yankees' lead.
"Not how I pictured it when I woke up this morning," A-Rod said with a big smile about his first RBI in nearly a month.
A-Rod did not have the dramatic moment on Thursday. To be honest, it was not a very memorable game. However, he won the night because what has been most important to Rodriguez since he returned from PED suspension in 2015 is not so much how he played, but how he acted.
While manager Joe Girardi has rinsed as much joy as possible out of this week with his refusing to play Rodriguez in the first two games, A-Rod continues to act in a way he never could muster, even when his physical gifts on a diamond lifted him to MVP honors. In taking it all in, he seemed comfortable in his own skin, soaking up the moments and hearing the boos -- there were few cheers -- from the Boston fans.
During the game, Rodriguez interacted with a 10-year-old boy named Jacob Doherty. Jacob had on a Yankee cap and shirt, so A-Rod sought him out.
"I approached him in the first inning, and I gave him a little proposal," Rodriguez, 41, said. "My proposal was: If I do one of the following, you get my bat. He was all excited. If I hit a home run. I said, 'That's highly unlikely.' He started laughing. If I get two hits. 'Highly unlikely.' No. 3, if we win. I have a good feeling about that.
"That was the deal. Every at-bat, he kept sending a lot of encouraging messages. Then he got the bat."
The Yankees won 4-2, moving 3 1/2 games back in the American League wild-card race, a game better than their crosstown rival Mets and 1-0 when A-Rod plays during his farewell tour.
Prior to his final road game as a Yankee, Rodriguez sneaked inside the Green Monster. In his career, Rodriguez had hit 29 balls out of Fenway, but for the first time he trekked inside the wall. He asked if there was a No. 13, which he was given.
"It should be pretty good for my Instagram account," Rodriguez said.
On Friday night, he is scheduled to play his final game at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees have planned a tribute at 7 p.m., moving the start of the game to 7:35. A-Rod and the team are hoping Mother Nature cooperates as the weather reports are not great.
Girardi confirmed once again that Rodriguez will face Chris Archer, against whom A-Rod has only two hits (both home runs) in 15 at-bats.
The more you listen to A-Rod, the more you have to wonder if this is really going to be it for him. He still thinks he can play, even if the Yankees don't. He is trying to just focus on what is now, not what is next.
Friday night will be his final time in pinstripes. His mother and daughters and a host of friends will be on hand.
"It is about me thanking the fans for putting up with me for such a long time," Rodriguez said. "They were with me through thick and thin -- '09 jumps out of the page. That is a ring we will have forever. That is a memory that we will have forever."
For the average fan, A-Rod's final road game as a Yankee probably will not be a lasting memory. For A-Rod, more comfortable as a person, it was just special to be out on the field again.
"We got a W," Rodriguez said. "It was fun. It was a lot of fun to be out there."